Something in the Blood (A Honey Driver Murder Mystery) Read Online Free PDF Page A

detective.’

Chapter Three
    ‘The police are making enquiries.’
    ‘Is that all?’
    Casper’s sigh blasted down the phone like the air from a punctured balloon.
    ‘My dear girl, the man has only gone missing. And that, my dear, is more or less what was said to me. They said give it one more day. If he doesn’t turn up then they’ll put out a nationwide alert.’
    The case of the missing tourist had run up against the buffers. Initially she’d been unwilling to take on this appointment. Now she found herself feeling disappointed. This had seemed like a real crime case and in retrospect she’d been quite keen to give it a go, but not now. The police had tagged it routine.
    On top of that the weather forecast took a nosedive. Storm clouds gathered. The weather god took no notice of her outburst. The rain started at five that afternoon.
    ‘It’s June, for goodness sake!’
    Thursday. Lindsey’s night off and she was hogging the bathroom. The fallout from all manner of scented soap, shower gel, and shampoo was drifting with the steam out of the bathroom window.
    Honey was sitting outside beneath a two hundred-year-old canopy. Its metal roof, the original colour turned to the mottled green of aged copper, ran the length of the private patio. Clematis and other plants climbed the fretwork supports. The patio area it covered was further divided from hotel guests by bushes and more plants climbing over a sturdy mesh of wire and stone pillars.
    Honey settled herself on a wooden bench. Like the roof, its framework was also of iron and painted white. As she fondled the lion heads forming the arms, she wondered how long before her career in amateur detection restarted.
    The sound of the running water coming from the bathroom ceased. Accompanied by a cloud of steam, Lindsey came out wearing a bathrobe and a towel around her wet hair.
    Honey looked at her. ‘I suppose you’ll be late tonight.’
    ‘Tonight? Certainly not. Expect me at around three. You want me to enjoy myself, don’t you?’
    ‘You said you were going to a concert.’
    Lindsey’s voice was muffled by towel and wet hair. ‘Mother, I’m trying to appear wild, just as you want me to.’
    ‘You're going nightclubbing?’
    Lindsey smiled through fronds of wet hair. ‘After the concert.’
    The young social scene in the city of Bath was second to none. Trendy wine bars rubbed shoulders with the Theatre Royal, pubs, restaurants and clubs that partied till dawn. Lindsey was part of that scene, but with reservations. Goodness knows where the culture vulture genes had come from.
    ‘Anywhere nice?’ Honey asked, trying to sound laid back and modern – even unconcerned. It was far from easy.
    Lindsey rubbed vigorously at her hair. ‘It depends on my friends.’
    Who was she going out with? Honey sipped at her drink.
    ‘Three men friends,’ said Lindsey before she had chance to ask.
    Three men and going to a night club. Buzz words, every last one of them. But what did they mean? Trying to sound laid back and modern flew out of the window. Mother Hen took over.
    ‘Now look, if you must go clubbing, keep in a crowd and don’t let these guys take advantage, and make sure you get a taxi home.’
    ‘Taxis are expensive.’
    There was a sense of déjà vu at that statement. Now where had she heard it before? Her response was also familiar. ‘I’ll reimburse you.’
    ‘Mum! Stop fussing. The guys are great pals and are not going to rape me. Stop treating me like a child. I’m eighteen, for God’s sake!’
    Honey’s mouth dropped as the truth dawned. ‘Gosh. You sound just like me. You’ve inherited my genes.’
    Lindsey’s eyes echoed the smile playing around her mouth. ‘And you sound just like …’
    ‘Hold it right there!’ Honey held up her hand, palm facing her daughter. ‘I apologise for sounding like my mother. Go out, get drunk, get laid, but don’t bring any trouble home.’ She kissed her daughter’s cheek. ‘Just take care of